Guess Who Used to Own This Boat?

During our vacation last week in Washington state, we stopped for lunch on one of the days in a small touristy town called La Conner. It's an historic old town that began as an outpost back in the 1800s.

It was rainy and most of the shops were actually closed, so I was getting bored and ready to leave when my brother suggested we take a walk further down the street, and I am so glad that we did.

Sitting in La Connor's small harbor was John Wayne's first yacht: the Norwester. Yes, that John Wayne. The Duke. I've been a big John Wayne fan my whole life, so I was excited to see a boat he once owned and actually strolled its decks. Apparently they give tours of the boat but unfortunately they were not doing tours while we were there.

From what I learned, John Wayne bought the boat from his manager back in 1955, and guests aboard the boat included Cary Grant and Gary Cooper, who also has Bozeman ties.

It was pretty cool to see, and next time I'm up that way, I will definitely take a tour!